2012-13 Departmental Performance Report

Program 3.8 – Ocean Forecasting

Description

As a maritime nation bordered by three oceans and an extensive network of inland waters, Canada has a requirement to understand ocean processes to enable the prediction of ocean conditions and their influences on our environment, ecosystems, and coastal communities. This is accomplished through research and the long-term monitoring of key ocean parameters (e.g. temperature, sea level, nutrients, tides, salinity) via space-based, aerial, autonomous vehicles, and vessel-based observations and the management of data to ensure its integrity and accessibility. This program is the foundation for marine information, including ocean prediction products and services that are used to support emergency preparedness (e.g. tsunami warnings, storm surges), adaptation to climatic change, search and rescue, the mitigation of oil spills, and at-sea operations such as fisheries and offshore energy. Clients of the program include internal users such as the Canadian Coast Guard, other federal government departments and agencies (e.g. Environment Canada, Department of National Defence, Transport Canada, Public Safety Canada), various maritime industries (e.g. commercial shipping, off-shore energy, fishing industry), the Canadian and international marine science community, and Canadians.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

Total Budgetary Expenditures
(Main Estimates)
2012-13		 Planned Spending
2012-13		 Total Authorities
(available for use)
2012-13		 Actual Spending
(authorities used)
2012-13		 Difference
2012-13
14.3 14.3 17.8 17.3 3.0
Note: Variance between planned and actual spending is due to the reprofiling of funding from 2011-12 to 2012-13.

Human Resources full-time equivalents

Planned
2012-13		 Actual
2012-13		 Difference
2012-13
116 133 17

Note: Variance between planned and actual human resources is the result of reallocations from the Ecosystem Assessments Sub-Program and the reprofiling of funding from 2011-12 to 2012-13.

Performance Results

Expected
Result		 Performance
Indicator		 Target Actual Result
Canadians are informed on the current and future physical and biochemical state of Canada's oceans and waterways Percentage of scientific publications by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in the field of oceanography compared to the Canadian total in the same field Maintain or improve five-year average
by March 31, 2013		 Result: 25.3%
Decreased compared to five-year average of 27.9% (2007-11) and 14 year average of 30.9% (1998-2011).
Oceanographic physical and biochemical data Percentage of new data added to databases, compared to the volume of data received in the year 80%
by March 31, 2013		 Result: 99%
Added 99% of data received in 2012-13 to databases.
Percentage of requests for oceanographic data completed in the time required 95%
by March 31, 2013		 Result: 97%
Completed 97% of requests for oceanographic data within the time required.

Performance Analysis and Lessons Learned

Program Initiatives

  • Establish Climate Change Adaptation Program
    • Implemented the Aquatic Climate Change Adaptation Services Program:
      • Completed main components of risk assessments, peer reviewed science, and integrated risk workshops; and
      • Distributed funds for Aquatic Climate Change Adaptation Services Program projects.
    • Provided support to Environment Canada to integrate the ocean and cryospheric1 components of the forecast model with the atmospheric components.
      • Lessons Learned: Working with Environment Canada's Weather Office provided valuable learning opportunities on the delivery of services for weather and climate forecasts.
    • Updated the agreement with Environment Canada and the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling on coupled climate modelling. Increased departmental understanding of carbon sequestration by the ocean and the impacts of ocean deoxygenation on North Pacific fisheries and Arctic ocean acidification through this ongoing collaboration.
  • Establish Oceans Plan — Collaborated with the Canadian Space Agency on remote (satellite) sensing for ocean forecasting through advanced planning of micro-satellites and discussions on domestic and international satellites.

Footnotes

1 The term cryospheric refers to the portions of the Earth's surface where water is in solid form, including sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets, and frozen ground (including permafrost).